AuthorTopic: I haven't posted in 9 years  (Read 90854 times)

Offline silvir

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I haven't posted in 9 years

on: March 12, 2015, 12:01:43 pm
...Hey guys. :)

The odds of any of the old crowd being around, much less remembering me, seems pretty slim. But maybe there's still one or two around here. If so, hi!

Anyway, my name is Noah Bradley, or, when I was a teenager I used to be known, "silvir." Nowadays, I do concept art and illustration. But I got my start here on Pixelation doing pixel art as a kid. This was one of my first loves artistically and its always held a special place in my heart.

So tonight I took one of the illustrations I've done for Magic: The Gathering and turned it into a little animated piece. It's super crude and I am rusty as hell at pixel art, but man does it feel good to do it again.



Thanks to everyone here for keeping this community going. I credit my time here for some of my first, big lessons in art. And giving me the push to be where I am today. So thanks.

<3

Noah "silvir" Bradley

http://noahbradley.com

Offline Kazuya Mochu

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #1 on: March 12, 2015, 12:23:53 pm
can you post an image from 9 years ago? I might remember it!
Image size doesn't matter! It's what you do with your pixels that counts!

Offline Friend

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #2 on: March 12, 2015, 12:31:35 pm
hey :)  just a nobody here, (I dream one day I can create something I'm proud of.)  I scrounged your website a bit.

1-your art is inspirational and beautiful.  ::) :D

2-thanks for the the articles such as 10 books for artists etc etc.   :)
----------

I can't say too much about the animation.  It'd be cool to see your original illustration. 

...How finished is it?  looks very wip for what you could achieve with your ability.  The greys in the piece lack contrast.  Everything else just looks unfinished- (unclean lines, unfinished bg, sketchy animation etc)

Offline cels

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #3 on: March 12, 2015, 07:43:36 pm
I saw this on imgur.com. Congrats on making the front page!

Offline Leogrim

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #4 on: March 13, 2015, 04:42:34 am
"The odds of any of the old crowd being around, much less remembering me, seems pretty slim. But maybe there's still one or two around here. If so, hi!"

Well...I didn't know you are pixeling too...but I am a follower of your artwork.^^ I think my first real indepth look at your art was through your video on masterstudies. Really helped me a lot.
Still a beginner and learning on my side...but one day I want to be as cool as you :)

Offline Ryumaru

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #5 on: March 13, 2015, 04:47:08 am
Wow, well welcome back!
Pretty crazy to see someone of your level here, and to know you started out with some pixels. I'm a big fan of your work, and would love to break into those industries someday. Keep being awesome, and the master of clouds amongst other things! :y:

You might find it interesting to take a look at some of the "developments" of pixel art since you've been away. Helm's ramblethread on pixel clusters is a really interesting read. It might seem very far removed from illustration at first ( and really, it is) but it has a lot to do with good shape design which is something to strive for across all mediums, as you know.

http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=8110.0

Of course it looks really cool as is, but it is a little unrefined. For someone like you who has a great grasp on art fundamentals, if you ever come back to pixel art, you can delve into the finer stuff with little to no worry. Your color count is low which is good, but you have some palette entries that could be used well in other places, and some that aren't really necessary.



Also, just for fun  :D

Offline silvir

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #6 on: March 13, 2015, 11:50:15 pm
Kazuya Mochu: I wish! I need to dig up some old stuff. Surely it's on an old harddrive somewhere. :) There was a piece that might still be online, but for the life of me I can't remember what the site was called. It was an isometric town that the guy who ran it let people get one tile to build whatever they wanted on. I made a log cabin for that. It's out there somewhere.

Friend: Thanks so much! :) And yeah, it's very rough. Wip/sketch is probably a better classification for this.

cels: Thanks, the internet is a crazy place. :)

Leogrim: One day you, too, shall return here and seem like an old man.

Ryumaru: Thanks so much! And thanks for the link--I'll check it out. I am sorta hoping to get back into the artform. It has such wonderful limitations to it and it's refreshing my love of art.

Thanks for the crit--100% spot on. Looks and feels much better. Will try to be more conscious of all of this next time around.

Thanks again, y'all!

Offline silvir

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #7 on: March 14, 2015, 01:18:16 am
Did another quick animated sketch of another newly released Magic piece. Fun way to practice things and get back into the groove.

Offline Friend

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #8 on: March 14, 2015, 02:26:34 am
the website you describe sounds like either pixeldam or the joint
http://www.pixeldam.net/citymap.asp  http://www.pixeljoint.com/projects/thejoint/

 I think I was looking at your pixel piece from the wrong perspective.  When Ryumaru saw it as a gameboy screen, I lit up with joy on how nice it looks as a gbc image.

Your avy just revamped again my view on pixel art: Less explicit detail, more chunkiness and not fearing the grid


« Last Edit: March 14, 2015, 02:28:17 am by Friend »

Offline Rosier

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #9 on: March 14, 2015, 02:40:10 am
I feel like the guy casting(?) could use more frames of animation.  The fire is too smooth for him to be so jerky. 

Maybe make him intensify while raising his arms?

Offline Decroded

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #10 on: March 14, 2015, 11:46:53 am
hey sick artwork and im sure most of us can benefit from watching from ur videos on ur site so thanks for sharing  :y:

noah's original awesome pieces these are based off for those who were interested...
http://noahbradley.deviantart.com/art/Anger-of-the-Gods-399566323
http://noahbradley.deviantart.com/art/Volcanic-Vision-519948628

Offline Gil

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #11 on: March 15, 2015, 09:58:45 pm
I remember you :)

Glad to see you doing great :)

Offline Phoenix849

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #12 on: March 15, 2015, 10:51:27 pm
I obviously don't remember you back from the days, but I appreciate your work and very inspiring tips. Just recently stumbled onto your website. Very surprised to see you here and discover you started with pixel art.

Actually, it'd be great to see an experienced artist getting back to pixel art. Most newcomers (including me), are getting into game-related art through the pixel pass, and it doesn't seem like the right way to me. I think It's much easier for an already developed artist to learn some tricks specific to the medium and use the skills to achieve greatness :)
Art portfolio and social media links: olegklishin.com

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #13 on: March 16, 2015, 05:59:53 pm
Yo Silvir.
Awesome portfolio!  :y:
Also I :-* MTG.
So thanks for making it look nice to play.

Doing some cards in pixel art is a great idea.
The colors and drawing look nice.
The timing and staging of the animations could be improved.
But assuming you have other things to do, it's visually readable.



Here's an edit to exemplify my super vague statement above.  :blind:



The timing of the animation is a bit slow.
It works with the limited number of frames.
And will save you time.
But loses some of the impact and action potential of whats happening in the scene.

By staging I mean that the overall presentation of what we need to see and feel is not as strong as it could be.
The tree is assumed to be protecting the guy from the rain of fire.
But none of the fireballs strike the branch above him.
It's honestly easy to imagine that the tree is giving him cover.
But showing it to the viewer is a much more powerful form of composing of the animation.

Below are all the steps I made to reach the above edit.

Cleaned off the image.


Base rain loop. --> 4 frames


Small impacts from the rain placed on the ground and the branch.  --> 16 frames
This turns the base rain loop into a quad loop.
Which is good, gives us variation.


Added sparks, more impacts.
Carved out the base rain loop with an overlapping ground layer.
This is a bit messy and 2 dimensional, but a good quick fix.


Animated a large fireball.
Then scrolled it over to the right to add another and save time.


Added a color flash in response to the impact of a large fireball.
Was done in index mode, so no colors were added if that matters to you.


Composited all the files together.
A full loop without any large fireballs was added to the middle to give them some space.


I thought a light screenshake for the large fireball impacts would be nice.
Pow!  :o


Then I added a messy fizzling fire to help resolve the large impacts.
Again just scrolled over the same animation to save time.


Hope that gives you some ideas.
I would say similar things about the other animation.
They both look really good, they just don't have a lot of feeling in the motion.

Timing and staging go hand in hand.
They have great affect on each other and messing with them will help to provide technical challenges and potentially more dramatic presentation/response.
So play around and see what you can do.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2015, 11:12:23 pm by PixelPiledriver »
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline Kazuya Mochu

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #14 on: March 17, 2015, 11:44:12 pm
ISOCITY??? from keneth fejer?

Dude I made the japanese house!
http://www.kennethfejer.com/isocity/
is yours the one with the stone chimney?
Image size doesn't matter! It's what you do with your pixels that counts!

Offline Cheetah

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #15 on: March 18, 2015, 12:00:37 am
That is a pretty amazing tutorial you have there PileDriver. Please include how you do the steps with the tools you use and post a true tutorial somewhere. Awesome.

Offline Gil

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #16 on: March 18, 2015, 07:55:41 am
ISOCITY??? from keneth fejer?
Yeah, that's his.

Here's the piece for reference:

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #17 on: March 19, 2015, 06:42:41 pm
Quote
Please include how you do the steps with the tools you use and post a true tutorial somewhere.
As soon as I can catch a break I'd be more than happy to do that.
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline wzl

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #18 on: March 19, 2015, 07:23:33 pm


Its a shame magic cards aren't animated.
I'm drooling. you two should team up or collab more often :D

Thanks for the breakdown ppd! good read

Offline tim

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #19 on: March 19, 2015, 09:12:43 pm







Such an impressive improvement.
You're doing a great job a explaining your thought process and laying down every step.
I really enjoyed it, thanks.

Noah Bradley, I know you and your work very well, thanks to Twitter, Instagram, Level Up session 54, etc…
You are inspiring so keep going and keep sharing.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2015, 09:15:34 pm by tim »
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Offline silvir

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #20 on: March 20, 2015, 03:06:40 am
PixelPiledriver: Duuuuuuude. That's awesome! Thanks so much for doing this. Fantastic breakdown and really educational. Just killer, man. Gonna take all this advice and apply it to some of my future endeavors. :)

Kazuya Mochu: YES! That's the one. :D Can't believe you found it.

Offline Vagrant

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #21 on: March 20, 2015, 01:54:43 pm
That is a pretty amazing tutorial you have there PileDriver. Please include how you do the steps with the tools you use and post a true tutorial somewhere. Awesome.
Indeed.


Post of the month?

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #22 on: March 20, 2015, 08:23:28 pm
Quote
I'm drooling. you two should team up or collab more often :D
Collabs are definitely something I should get into.
I actually enjoy animating other people's art quite a bit.

Quote
Its a shame magic cards aren't animated.
Well I'm looking for a job.
Is wizards in need of pixel artists?  :crazy:

14,000+ cards would take some serious work. :blind:
But you could start with more recent stuff I suppose.

It'd be a really cool project to animate a full game of magic, card for card.
Either from a tournament video or just a recorded match with friends.
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline yaomon17

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #23 on: March 20, 2015, 08:53:02 pm
Maybe you can ask 7even about animating for Duelyst.  :)

Offline Cyangmou

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #24 on: March 20, 2015, 11:55:21 pm
snip

guess this is adequate for how much work you put into that post PPD =)

"Because the beauty of the human body is that it hasn't a single muscle which doesn't serve its purpose; that there's not a line wasted; that every detail of it fits one idea, the idea of a man and the life of a man."

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Offline Corinthian Baby

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #25 on: March 21, 2015, 03:55:26 am
Hey Noah, I know from the Facebook concept art world. Trippy to see you on here, cool to know you started from pixel art!

Offline Conzeit

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #26 on: March 21, 2015, 04:32:11 pm
There's Kazuya, there's Ptoing, there's Camus (me :p), here's Helm Miascugh and some others once in a while...

Nickname seems reallly familiar, but I dont actually remember talking to you or your work :p.

You've done really well as a concept artist Noah,never know about you but you make me wish I had taken better advantage of this time. I'm pretty much the same as I was 9 years ago.

PXPD awesome crit as usual =)

Maybe you can ask 7even about animating for Duelyst.  :)

Yaomon...that's so bizarre for me to read you cant even imagine. I had NO IDEA 7even was Glauber, the guy on Duelyst oooooh boy XD
« Last Edit: March 21, 2015, 04:47:05 pm by Conceit »

Offline HarveyDentMustDie

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #27 on: March 22, 2015, 01:24:43 am
PPD thanks for this great walk-trough. :)

Quote
Maybe you can ask 7even about animating for Duelyst.  :)

They actually had open animator place a month ago I saw request on twitter. Maybe it's still open so PPD you should definitely contact them, you can't loose if you try.

https://twitter.com/unseven/status/562595095695097857

This is not Duelyst but still job :)
https://twitter.com/KeiKube/status/576585005398241281

Offline CelioHogane

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #28 on: March 22, 2015, 05:13:57 am
They actually had open animator place a month ago I saw request on twitter. Maybe it's still open so PPD you should definitely contact them, you can't loose if you try.

Yes he can loose if he try, is not a god of pixel art of something XD

Maybe what you want to say is "you can't win if you don't try"

Offline silvir

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #29 on: March 22, 2015, 09:05:01 am
Conceit: I'm preeeeetty sure I remember your username. Dunno if we ever interacted or anything, but nice to see a few familiar names still haunting this place. :)

I did a quick sketch of a game mockup today. No cleanup at all, but here's where it's at now:



I'm considering a game project in connection with my personal project that some of you may have heard of, The Sin of Man.

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #30 on: March 22, 2015, 09:13:15 am
Quote
I did a quick sketch of a game mockup today.
Looking nice! :y:
Glad you found the post helpful.


And thanks for the job leads guys.
I'll check them out. :blind:
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline silvir

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #31 on: March 22, 2015, 09:15:21 am
Suuuuuper helpful. And yeah, I'd love to see a tutorial on some of the nitty-gritty on your animation process. I basically fumbled my way through making those and am pretty sure I did everything wrong.

Offline AlcopopStar

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Re: I haven't posted in 9 years

Reply #32 on: March 22, 2015, 02:19:01 pm
Great stuff!

I ~think~ I remember you from back in the day, I was just a wee baby artist back then tho so I doubt you'd remember me, I can't even remember my username lmao (I think it was pixeldragon or something dorky like that).

Latest piece is looking really nice there, i'm not going to be able to comment much until it's more polished as landscapes like that a bit above my skill level. The only thing I can think of at this stage is that the moon is a touch distracting.

Composition-wise I think you're close to the golden ratio in your focal points, which is looking lovely, the only thing to break that is the moons placement and brightness. So you might want to watch that, or perhaps tone it down a shade.

As an aside, you might be interested as a digital illustrator in Fessler's indexing approach(http://danfessler.com/blog/hd-index-painting-in-photoshop), I think you would be able to utilize it better then most. Though that might defeat the purpose of returning to pixels for you i'm not sure.
« Last Edit: March 22, 2015, 02:21:18 pm by AlcopopStar »